A few weeks ago, the Guardian ran a story by Oscar Schwartz about Affectiva, a company that plans to market “emotion-detection technology.” That phrase, taken out of context, is an effective piece of hype even if it's meant as a scary warning, as it concisely reinforces the company’s pitch: It suggests that emotions are discrete, universally identifiable things that actually can be detected, in individuals, in isolation, as if emotions did not occur interpersonally and did not depend on context. Instead it treats emotions as if they were coins dropped on the beach; you can just sweep your detector over the sand until you find something.
Feelings Unremembered
Feelings Unremembered
Feelings Unremembered
A few weeks ago, the Guardian ran a story by Oscar Schwartz about Affectiva, a company that plans to market “emotion-detection technology.” That phrase, taken out of context, is an effective piece of hype even if it's meant as a scary warning, as it concisely reinforces the company’s pitch: It suggests that emotions are discrete, universally identifiable things that actually can be detected, in individuals, in isolation, as if emotions did not occur interpersonally and did not depend on context. Instead it treats emotions as if they were coins dropped on the beach; you can just sweep your detector over the sand until you find something.